//------------------------------//
// Part III, Chapter 22 - The High Tide Case - Conclusion 
// Story: Fitting In Is Hard To Do 
// by origami 
//------------------------------//

In a small cell in the Van Hoover Police Station, Scarlett Penn sat waiting.  The mare had been sitting there for several hours now.  Originally, she'd been brought in and taken to an interrogation room where two detectives, a mare and stallion, grilled her for information.  Wisely, she refused to answer any questions until she had a chance to speak with her attorney.

A few cells away from her own was Mercury Flyer, also picked up by the police when she was.  He was being held on possible charges for aiding and abetting.  He would get slapped with that if the detectives decided to charge Scarlett, which they most likely would.

That outcome wasn't something Scarlett wanted to see.  Aside from having a thing for the colt, she knew that all he really did was what he was told, and most of the time, that didn't involve anything criminal.  What happened today would count as his first strike, most likely.

As she sat, she thought on her situation at the moment.  As it stood, she could be charged with a multitude of things.  At the moment, she saw no way that this could end well for her....



...unless she cooperated.

"Yeah," Scarlett thought, "that's my best bet."

Mercury knew little to nothing of Sharpclaw's operations.  His job was to carry correspondence and nothing more.

Scarlett, on the other hoof, was a treasure trove of information.  She knew the names of marks and muscle, where information was kept, and exactly how far Sharpclaw would go to collect on a payment.  At the moment, she was her own most valuable bargaining chip.

At that moment, it hit her.  "I can cut a deal!" she thought to herself.  All she needed was to see her lawyer and hash it out with her.  With what she had to offer the detectives, getting what she wanted should be a cinch.

A knock on the door to the holding cells prompted a unicorn guard to stand up and answer.  After a brief exchange of words, he shut the door and walked over to Scartlett's cell.

"Your legal representation is here, ma'am" the guard said as he used a spell to release the lock.

Scarlett stood up and followed the guard out of the holding area.  They walked down a short hallway and into a private room.  Waiting inside was a mare with her auburn mane tied back into a bun.

The lawyer looked at Scarlett and smiled.  "Haven't seen you in a while" she said with a smirk.

Scarlett gave a small smile back.  "Thanks for coming on short notice, Sunny."

The lawyer, Sunny Disposition, smiled back.  "It's not a problem.  This is actually a nice break from the tax law cases I usually do.  Seriously, why do the nobles think they can get away with sticking their bits in griffish banks off Equestria's shores?  The princess made a decree that allowed Equestria's tax bureau to evaluate and tax those places for a reason."

"Those in power think they're above the law," Scarlett answered, "especially the ones that aren't afraid to get their hooves or claws dirty."

Sunny just gave a small nod at that last part.  "So," she says in a topic change, "what can I help you with?"

"As you might have guessed," Scarlett begins, "I'm in a bit of trouble."

Sunny chuckles a bit.  "I kinda figured that much out" she responds.  "How deep in it are you?"

Scarlett proceeded to inform Sunny about Sharpclaw and his scams, particularly his loan sharking operation that was the main point of interest for the detectives.  She left out only the very specific details, but painted enough of a picture for the mare to understand that, once the detectives figured out everything, Scarlett wouldn't see freedom again until she had more than a few gray hairs in her mane and wrinkles on her muzzle.

"That's... a lot" Sunny says once Scarlett finishes.

"I know," the mare admits, "and I'm not proud of it."

"I know for a fact that these detectives want to nail as many ponies to the wall as possible, and they especially want the griffin at the top of all this.  I don't want to go to prison, and I don't want to see Mercury get in a heap of trouble for this either."

Sunny nods in understanding.  "You want to make a bargain, I take it?"

Scarlett nods.  "I'll give them everything I know.  All I want is amnesty for myself and Mercury.  That's it."

The lawyer lets out a breath, but nods.  "I'll help put this thing together, but I hope you understand that they may not go along with it."

Scarlett looks deflated a bit, but is still smiling.

"If that is the hill I die on, then so be it." 





Old Bill and Peach Fuzz were sitting at their desks as they waited for Scarlett Penn, secretary to Sharpclaw the griffin crime boss, to finish speaking with her legal counsel.  The two hated this and for good reason; the lawyer was likely telling her not to say anything and to allow her to file injunctions to hold up the judicial process as much as possible.

"How bad do you think this is gonna be?" Peach asks Bill.

"No clue" Bill responds.  "Knowing lawyers like I do, they're probably gonna make it as difficult for us as possible."

Peach nodded.  "Yeah.  Depending on how good they are, we might as well be throwing spitballs at a non-stick pan."

Bill shook his head.  "I read up on this one.  Tax attorney.  She only takes legal defense cases on rare occasions.  In truth, she's actually the attorney that did Scarlett's juvenile case."

"That would explain how Scarlett knows her" Peach said with a nod.

Before their conversation goes any further, another detective walks up to them.  "Your POI is done with their attorney" the detective tells them.

Peach and Bill look at each other with a bit of surprise.  "That was fast" Peach says as she stands up and walks over to the interrogation room, Bill standing up and following behind her.





Scarlett and Sunny sat patiently as they waited for the two detectives to come in.  The lawyer looks over a written agreement she has composed on her client's behalf.

"I don't know if they'll go for this" Sunny says to Scarlett.  "Like you said, most of these detectives want to get every single suspect they can behind bars."

"They're not gonna waste their time with the little minnows if letting them go means they can catch bigger fish" Scarlett responds.  "With what I have to give them, there's no way they'll balk at this offer."

"I hope you're right" Sunny says as she returns to looking over the deal.

After another few minutes, the door to the interrogation room opens and in walk Peach and Bill.  The two detectives close and lock the door and then sit down across from the lawyer and suspect.  "So, are you ready to start talking?" Bill asks Scarlett.

Sunny steps in immediately.  "I have advised my client not to say anything at this time" she tells Bill.  The stallion stays stone faced, but he's cursing inside despite knowing this was coming.

"However," Sunny continues, "my client has decided that she wants to make an offer to you.  The way she is telling it to me, it will be too good for you to pass up."

This makes both Peach and Bill look at the mare in surprise.  Sunny clears her throat as she begins to read over the agreement.

"In exchange for all potential charges against my client and the pegasus stallion Mercury Flyer being dismissed, she will provide you with sufficient information to completely shut down the illegal private loan operations of a griffish criminal operating under the alias Mint Eagle."

Bill scoffs at the deal.  "Really?  You expect us to take that deal?"

Scarlett interjects before her lawyer can respond.  "I do, because I have pretty much everything you could want or need.  If you agree to my offer, I will give you enough information that that griffin will be in either police or guard custody by the end of the week."

Bill looks at her with suspicion.  "Really?"

Scarlett nods.  "Not just that," she continues, "but a whole organization of informants and enforcers that are responsible for so much crime that by the time you're done rounding them up, Equestria's whole crime rate will drop by full percentage points.  That'll look pretty good on your service records, won't it?"

Peach and Bill ignored the comment about their service records; they weren't glory seekers.  It was her comments about the whole network that interested them.

"If we accept this deal, you'll spill the whole can of beans?" Bill asked Scarlett.

"Honestly, it's more like a whole stew pot full to the top with beans," she says with a smirk, "but yes, I will squeal if you let me and that stallion walk."

"Why the stallion?" Peach asks out of honest curiosity.

"He's a courier that's just as much a victim of Mint as any pony," she answers, "and he hasn't committed any actual crimes, outside of what he attempted earlier today."

"He's a good pony that just got caught up in a bad situation.  You don't want to punish somepony like him just because he got mixed up in something he didn't know he was getting into?"

Peach and Bill looked at her for a moment before Bill let out a chuckle.  "You're sweet on him, aren't you?"

Scarlett turned a bit red.  "Well..."

"Can't say I blame you" Peach told her.  "If I had a thing for colts, I'd probably want him too."

Bill turned to look at Peach.  He'd been working with her for several years and never knew that about her.

"Then you can understand my desire to keep him and myself out of prison" Scarlett says in response.

"Could we have a copy of that offer?" Peach asks as she puts a hoof out to receive it.  Sunny produces a blank paper and places it face down on the agreement, using the duplication spell to make a quick copy and then passing it to the detective.

"We'll run this by our commissioner," Peach says, "but there's no guarantee he'll go for it."

The detective walks past Bill and exits the room.  Old Bill stands up and goes after her.  "What are you doing?" he asks.

"This really isn't a bad offer" Peach responds.  "If she really does have all that information, then it's really gonna help in nailing this griffin."

"And if she's bluffing?" Bill asks.

"I doubt that she's bluffing" Peach answers.  "I could see a small bit of fear in her eyes, but also a lot of resolve.  She's not doing this so much for herself as for that colt in the lock up."

"But why would she care about a colt that she's just a little sweet on?" Bill says with confusion.

Peach laughs a little.  "You don't know mares to well, huh?"

Bill just continues looking at her with confusion.

"She's more than just a little sweet on him" Peach tells Bill as she continues on to the commissioner's office with the offer in her hoof.

Bill blinked at her for a few seconds and then ran off after her.  "And how come you never told me you didn't like stallions?"

"I like stallions" she shouts back.  "I'm just not into them."





Scarlett and Sunny continued sitting in the interrogation room, waiting for the two detectives to return.  Scarlett was a stone solid face of determination, but behind that facade was a filly trembling in fear.

Would the police accept her offer?

She hoped.  All she wanted was to not be in prison, but if she had to, then she hoped that at least they would let Mercury walk free.  She had known him for a little bit, and she was rather fond of him, enough that she was thinking that she might take him for a dinner this evening, if things worked out.

Elsewhere, Mercury Flyer was sitting in an interrogation room.  He didn't have a lawyer, and he was waiting for a public defense attorney to come see him.  He was feeling very scared at the moment, the prospect of actually going to a real prison bringing him to tears at least once while he waited in the holding cell.

It was taking everything in him not to cry as he waited for the police to come in.  He would cooperate and tell them as much as he could, but he really didn't have anything.  All he did was deliver messages in exchange for his debt being marked down, though he doubted very much that the griffin was letting him pack back his debt.

The sound of the door opening broke him from his thoughts as he looked up at the door.  One of the two detectives that had spoken to him earlier was standing in the doorway.

"You're gonna owe a pretty mare one heck of a dinner" the detective said as he gestured for Mercury to follow him.





Old Bill and Peach Fuzz sat across from Scarlett Penn, her attorney Sunny, and the colt Mercury Flyer as Scarlett told them everything she knew about Sharpclaw's loan sharking operation.  She'd given them practically all of it.

Names of ponies, griffins, and even dragons in some cases that were either victims or paid muscle.

Addresses of safe houses and warehouses where paperwork was being stored.

Most important of all, however, was a list of addresses in Las Pegasus where the local guard detachment would most likely find Sharpclaw himself.

That last tidbit had been worth the plea agreement, though it had to be modified so that Scarlett and Mercury were watched.  If the information was false and there was no evidence whatsoever of Sharpclaw being in Las Pegasus, then the deal was null and void and every last page of the book was getting launched at them.

The detectives were finishing up a few of the last details when they mentioned the collateral in the Crystal Empire.

"That would be Peridot Gamble and his assigned associates Sledgehammer and Flog" Scarlett explains.  "They were told to foalnap a filly in order to strongarm the mother for more payment."

"You mean that 'Mint Eagle' ordered a foalnapping?" Peach said in disbelief.

"Normally he wouldn't," Scarlett conceded, "but he had a creature in mind to pin the blame to if things went south."

"And that would be what this remark is about?" Bill asked, showing her the note about "pinning it on the bug".

"Yeah" she confined.  "They were supposed to lure Thorax into that alleyway and jump him."

Bill jotted down the name when he looked at it again with some confusion.  "Could you repeat that last one, please?"

"Thorax" she responded.

"I can't say that I've ever heard of a pony with the name Thorax before" Peach says to Scarlett.

"Well, there's a reason for that" she responds.  "Thorax is a changeling."

Both Bill and Peach look at Scarlett with skepticism.

"A changeling" Bill finally says, clear disbelief written across his face.

Scarlett nods.  "Hard to believe, but it's true.  Princess Cadance introduced him a little while back.  Peridot wrote back to Mint Eagle about it and that's when the scheme to set the changeling up as a stooge was conceived."

"This is a bit rich" Peach says shaking her head.  "You're telling us that not only is there a changeling living in the Crystal Empire, but that he's being framed for a foalnapping?"

"You can ask the crystal guard if you want" Scarlett says in a matter of fact way.  "In fact, I know for certain that the changeling is on trial for it now.  I'd imagine a verdict will be coming soon if they haven't convicted him already."

Peach eyed the mare wearily as she mulled over the information.  Old Bill, however, stood up and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Peach asked him.

"I'm gonna head to the communications office" he told her.  "If she's telling the truth, then the crystal guard will corroborate her story.  If it isn't, then her cake is as good as baked."

Peach wanted to protest, but just shook her head.  "Fine" she relents.  "I'm staying here and continuing with collecting information from her."

Bill nods and then walks out the door.  Turning left, he goes down the hallway and up a set of stairs to a room near the roof, where a radio antenna was situated.

Inside the room were several machines which were processing bits and pieces of information being fed into them by ponies.  It was a database for police activity, with all of it being recorded onto papers and being placed into files for storage.  At the back of the room was a small telegraph and telephone station, being operated by a middle aged mare with an electrical schematic symbol on her flank; a power inverter, if Bill was remembering right.

"Wire Tap?" he says to the mare, who looks up at him.

"Old Bill" she says with a smirk.  "What brings you up here?"

"A really strange request" he tells her as he walks into the room and shuts the door behind him.  "Can you place a call or send a telegraph message to the Crystal Empire?"

"Well, sure, but what's the message?"

Bill takes a breath before answering.  "Ask the guard there if they have a changeling named Thorax on trial there for foalnapping."

Wire Tap looks at him for a moment.  "You're serious?"

Bill nods.  "We have a mare in custody that is telling us that a griffin she worked for was told a changeling is living there and that a group of ponies there was to set him up as a patsy."

Wire Tap looks at Old Bill before giving a shrug.  "No harm in making a phone call, I guess" she says as she reaches for a simple beige colored phone.  "I'll see if I can get somepony up there."

With skill that can only be attained through repetition, Wire Tap spins the rotary dial until she has connected with a phone line in the Crystal Empire.

"Hello, is this the guard station for the Crystal Empire?" she asks, getting a response that Old Bill can't decipher.

"This is Wire Tap from the communications division of the police force here in Van Hoover.  I have a detective named Old Bill here that wants to know if you have a changeling there on trial for foalnapping.  Can you check that please?"

Old Bill watches Wire Tap for a few moments, expecting this to take a fair amount of time.  After a few seconds, however, the mare turns and looks at him with a surprised expression.

"They do," she tells him, "and the jury is in deliberation now to decide his guilt."

Old Bill couldn't believe it what Wire Tap had just told him.  Scarlett wasn't lying.  There was in fact a changeling on trial in the Crystal Empire.

"They said the jury was deliberating?" he asked her.

"According to the Crystal Guard" Wire responds.  "In truth, they could deliver a verdict any moment now."

Old Bill has a bit of an inner conflict upon this sudden revelation.  On one hoof, one of the monsters from the royal wedding would be behind bars.  On the other hoof, despite the reputation of changelings in general, he knew now that in this specific instance, an innocent was being punished.

Ultimately, his good conscience won out. 

"Keep them on the line" he tells Wire Tap.  "I'll be right back."

"Okay" she responds as she turns back to the receiver to keep the guard station on the line.





Peach took the time that Old Bill was away to get some more info from Scarlett, who gave them some more bombshell evidence in the form of a safe house address where a few single mares with severe debts were "working it off".  As she finished jotting down info and prepared to ask another question, Old Bill came in quickly.

"Grab all the notes and follow me" he told her, then turned to Scarlett and Mercury.  "You two are free to go, but don't leave Van Hoover for now.  We're going to have ponies keeping tabs on you until we can verify all the information you've given us."

He turns and rushes out, Peach following behind as quickly as she can while organizing their notes.

"Bill, what is it?" she asks him with concern in her voice.

"The story checks out" he tells her.  "They have a changeling on trial and the jury went into deliberation.  They could have a verdict anytime now."

"...What?"

"Scarlett was telling the truth" Bill repeats.  "There is a changeling on trial in the Crystal Empire for attempting a foalnapping.  The jury is in deliberation and they could return a verdict any time now."

The stallion turns and heads back to the radio office.

"Hey!" Peach calls out while chasing after him.  "Why are you in such a hurry?"

Bill stops and turns to her.  "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm about to exonerate a changeling."





Thorax was sitting in his cell awaiting news of the jury's decision.  As of right now, his life was on the line, quite literally.  If they decided he was guilty, then the rest of his soon to be short life would be spent in a dungeon slowly starving to death, with no way to do anything to stop it.  Faced with an all too real prospect of his own mortality, the changeling quietly wept.

A bang against the cell doors snapped him from his thoughts.  He looked up to see a guard standing at the door with a cold expression on his muzzle.

"It's time" he said.  "The jury has reached a decision."